Beer: Ratings & Reviews

It pours a clear, dark reddish amber, and is amply carbonated. A full finger of white head stands for a time. Lacing is thin, sparse, and an afterthought.

The aroma is a mild mix of subtle malt and a bready dough note. A mere touch of hop bite is tamped down by a fruity, generic sweetness.

Upon tasting, the sweetness of the malt is most notable, and not so much of grain as sugar. Only a hint of caramel stops it from being too distracting when the sweet grains turn lightly tart and cherry-esque. The hops here are even less notable, with just the slightest touch of spicy edge. A swish of bready malt drops off when a fairly crisp bitterness dries the finish a bit. Too sweet and not hoppy enough, not what I was expecting or hoping for.

Light bodied, the malt lends the ever so gentle creaminess to the texture, which combines with the carbonation to lend more than a little presence.

At first I thought, maybe I'm not impressed because it's not really what I was expecting. Then I realized, I wasn't impressed because the malt carries an unbalanced sweetness, which is the result of too frugal a hop profile. It's far form macro territory, of course, but I shudder to think what a draft list would have to look like for me to order this again. Maybe as a bail-out in a shot and a beer macro haven, but it just doesn't cut it otherwise.

Average pour nothing special.Color is a gold to amber.Has a malty aroma.Hop bitterness is noted on the finish.A medium body with good carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel.Spotty lacing left on my glass.Citric flavors balance the hop bitterness.The aroma has a sweet caramel malt quality Very average beer nothing special at all.I doubt I'd buy this again.

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Bottle says an English-style Amber Ale, BA says its an APA. Bottle says its from Montana and Colorado, its actually a beer marketing company from California. Sheesh!

Pours a clear amber with a frothy head. Decent retention as well as some lacing as it drinks.

Smell is rather muted though I do get caramel maltiness.

Taste is much the same. Not a very complex beer, mostly the sweetish toffee/caramel. No really notable hops either, though there is a good bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is kind of watery, light-bodied.

Drinkability is pretty good, but I don't like this beer enough to have to many.

The beer pours a dark golden/amber color with a thick white head that quickly fades to lacing. The aroma is quite average. It has no real odor at all besides the basic pale malt smell. The taste is decent. It is dry and plain. It has the taste of pale malts and some higher lovibond malts. It has no complexity, but it isn't that bad. The mouthfeel is good. It is a low bodied beer with good carbonation. This beer drinks well besides the fact that it has no real niche or flare.

I just finished a bottle. Maybe Im not an ale man, but I thought that overall, it seemed pretty run-of-the-mill.

It poured nicely, with a nice copper color and nice 1 head. It tasted like an average amber ale, just a bit of sweetness. Overall I liked it, but next time I go to the store Ill probably try a new brew than Black Dog Ale again.

Some of the other reviews below will be a lot more technical, so I wont even try to compare. From an average beer drinker, I just found this an average to just-above-average beer.

A: Pours an amber color, small white head, slight lacing down the glass
S: Smell is of caramel, nutty scent as well
T: Tastes same as smell, caramel flavor but not as strong as the smell. Slight hop aftertaste.
M: Light to medium bodied beer
D: Pretty average amber ale, smell stood out but not really much else.

pours a bright red/amber. High clarity. Not a lot of the frothy off-white head, and what there was quickly receded to a ring. Left decent lace.

Aroma is very floral and a little earthy. Comes across as quite sweet.

Taste is caramelly/buttery and some raisin. A bit too sweet for my taste, and this is more pronounced as it warms. Like the balancing bittering hops noted. Not a big fan of the drying, acidic finish.

Appropriate carbonation. I'd call it a little thin in the mouth, but honestly if the body were much bigger I'd probably find the sweetness cloying. I could have another, but I'd definitely chill it a bit more first. I don't care for the honey sweetness once this gets too warm.

Poured a complete 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass. It's a pretty amber/orange. Got a nice white head about a finger's width. Some lacing as I swirl the glass gently. This beer has a sweet malty aroma with very little noticable hops. There is a nice spicey undertone to the aroma that is quite pleasant. The taste also bursts with sweet maltiness, and then a slight bitter finish, with more evidence of spicenss. Even after the bitter finish I am left with lingering sweetness. (I guess I'd say this beer is sweet). It does have a nice smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

This beer does not have the hop balance that I have come to expect in an APA. It is nontheless a nice drinkable ale that is very sessionable IMO.

Poured into a pint glass. Appears light brown with a thin off-white head. Malty aroma with earth notes. Creamy mouthfeel with a very malty taste with hints of caramel and very light chocolate. Some light hoppiness in the middle with a bitter finish. The flavor improves as the beer warms. Not bad for a middle of the road beer. Good session beer.

AP: Very clear Deep red amber color, medium carbonation that creates a one-finger deep frothy and bubbly but tight appearing off-white head that displayed good retention. There are some clusters of lacing remaining on the glass.

Taste: A very hearty and herbal but piney hop flavor that over-powers a mellow and clean malt flavor that has some subtle roasted-nuts and caramel effects. The finish is a mildly bitter and herbal hop bite.

Feel: Medium body, crisp and clean and a bit dry on the palate.

DA: The lable states this as an English-style amber ale, but it really has a much bigger hop charechter than it should, Pale Ale is more fitting for this. Pretty easy to drink despite the identity crisis.

An English style special amber ale. This ale's full body imparts a distinctive malty, robust palate and fruity bouquet. Brewed from pale malted barley, Munich, crystal, carastan and a touch of chocolate malts, Pacific Northwest hops, water and ale yeast.

Dark bronze almost amber in color, some color in the head, probably from the chocolate malt. The head is big and dense but dissipates quickly. The nose is malty with notes of caramel, sweetness of raisin fruitiness, floral hops, and yeast. The taste is sweet, malty and sugary like caramel, with underlying tones of yeast. Hops presence almost creates a balance throughout. Mild toasted flavor is detected midway and is carried into the aftertaste.

Pours a deep copper with a very thin head. Aroma is just a touch of malt and caramel. Flavor is sweet... notes of bread an caramel, with very little hop backing. Mouthfeel is a tad over-carbonated, with a medium body. All in all, a decent, if unremarkable pale ale. Not something I'd go out of my way for, but I definitely wouldn't hesitate to drink a couple if there is no better option.

The beer pours from the 12-ounce brown bottle a golden amber color with a modest in size head, the texture frothy and the lace adequate to cover the glass. Nose is sweet malt, fresh and crisp with the start lightly sweet with fair to middling malt, top is light. Finish is stinging in its acidity, the hops benign and the aftertaste quite dry, a tolerable beer. Used to see these beers every where, now only a few places carry this beer, Trader Joes is where I picked up this beer, always loved that dog.

This is a slightly hazy dark amber to brown ale with a two finger head. The retention and lacing is minimal.
The aroma is mostly of sweet malts with a hint of citrusy hops.
The flavor is very similar to the aroma. There is a bit of caramel malt with some spiciness present and a slight amount of hops near the finish.
Mouth feel is a bit light for the style and the carbonation levels are low.

Overall, this is a decent beer, but it does not stand out as an excellent one.